As the daughter of the 44th U.S. President of the United States,
Malia Obama's path in life went in a completely unexpected direction.
Malia Obama was an adorable 6-year-old when her father was elected to represent Illinois in the
U.S. Senate in 2004. This would mark the beginning of her life in the limelight. On November 2nd,
after she helped her dad cast his vote, per Vanity Fair, Malia sat in Barack's lap and
Sasha sat in Michelle's in a hotel room while the family waited for election results to roll
in. As the favorite to win the race against the Republican candidate, Alan Keyes, Barack and his
family smiled widely throughout the night, with Malia showing off her missing front baby teeth.
The Obamas were still mainly just a regular family back then, though they were starting
to become more prominent. In July 2004, Barack gave a keynote speech at the Democratic National
Convention in Boston that put him firmly on the map as a charismatic politician.
With calls for unity between party lines,
he set the stage for what would later become his successful presidential campaign.
During his speech, he addressed how pundits tended to divide the
country into categories based on political affiliation. Barack countered by saying,
"But I've got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the Blue States,
and we don't like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the Red States."
Between 2004 and 2007, Barack Obama continued to strengthen his position in America's political
arena, drawing increased attention to his charming family along the way. Curiosity
about the Obamas skyrocketed in February 2007 when the then-U.S. Senator announced
his candidacy for the 2008 presidential nomination at the Old State Capitol. Barack,
of course, brought his family along, standing in front of the opulent Sugar Creek limestone
structure alongside his gals. Malia Obama, 8 years old at the time, protected herself from
the frigid Illinois temperatures in a black coat and white scarf with matching gloves and beanie.
That was a busy year for the whole family. But even on the campaign trail,
Barack and Michelle Obama tried to establish a routine for the girls,
as they explained to People in 2008. The proud parents gave Malia and Sasha Obama chores,
like setting the table and doing the dishes. In exchange, the kids received
a dollar a week. The Obamas also made sure they had movie nights together as a family.
According to the outlet, Malia admitted in 2007 that she sometimes hoped her father would lose
the election, though Barack said it mainly came down to her feeling nervous about leaving Chicago.
Less than a year later, Malia Obama would pack her toys and other belongings and move into the
White House, putting a life of relative normalcy entirely behind her. But it wasn't all bad. In his
victory speech, Barack Obama told the nation that his daughters would finally get a dog.
Because Malia is allergic to animal fur, the family had to find one that was hypoallergenic,
according to The Mercury News. They also wanted to adopt, which made the
search even more challenging. Ultimately, the Obamas did not find a shelter pup,
but the late U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy gifted them a Portuguese water dog that the girls
named Bo. And in 2013, the Obamas welcomed a second Portuguese water dog named Sunny.
On the campaign trail in July 2008, Michelle and Barack Obama agreed to do an interview with
Access Hollywood — and they brought Malia and Sasha along, who were 10 and 7 at the time. The
girls were a big part of the interview, answering questions and being cute in front of the camera.
"What are we supposed to talk about?"
"Whatever you'd like!"
"Have we started?"
The Obamas probably expected the interview to generate some interest in their kids,
but they just did not anticipate how strong the reaction would be. Barack
later felt their decision to include them was a mistake, and as Today reported in 2008,
the four Obamas never sat down for an interview together again. He said,
"I think that we got carried away in the moment. [...] I
was surprised by the attention it received."
After learning the lesson, Barack and Michelle Obama worked diligently
to keep their daughters' lives as private as humanly possible.
Early on, Malia proved to be a hard worker. While attending high school at Sidwell Friends School,
she interned at television studios in New York and Los Angeles,
indicating that she might be interested in pursuing a career
in the entertainment industry. Malia interned as a production assistant on
the set of the Halle Berry-led miniseries "Extant." Berry told Andy Cohen in 2017,
"She was down to do whatever a PA is asked to do, and I had wild respect for her for that."
In 2015, Malia spent the summer interning at HBO, which included spending some time on the
set of "Girls" working with the show writers. Her performance earned her praise. Lena Dunham,
the show's creator and lead actor, said of Malia on SiriusXM Satellite Radio,
"She is so smart. I once asked her, 'What's your favorite movie?' and she was like,
'Well, do you want me to list by my favorite director, actor,
or cinematographer?' And I was like, 'You are smarter than me, let's just be done with that.'"
Fox News reported that a year after, Malia switched gears and accepted an internship at
the U.S. embassy in Madrid — a move that caused many to wonder if the young Obama was interested
in following in her father's footsteps. But in 2017, as Page Six noted, during her gap
year between high school and Harvard, Malia landed an internship at The Weinstein Company
film studio in New York City. And her journey in the world of show business hasn't stopped there.
Like her fellow college students, Malia Obama's time at Harvard was broken up by
the arrival of a global pandemic. She spent the national lockdown with her sister and parents,
and in May 2021, she graduated with a bachelor's degree in Visual and Environmental Studies.
As Michelle Obama revealed on her self-titled podcast in August 2020, their household discovered
the importance of keeping a regular schedule while they were stuck at home.
"Right around five o'clock, everybody comes out of their nooks."
She explained that her and Barack's daughters studied on their computers for most of the day
but always took part in a fun activity after work. Michelle also said that her
family had started holding card game tournaments. She elaborated, saying,
"Barack has taught the girls Spades, so now there's this vicious competition."
The former first lady also spoke about how the quarantine had psychologically
affected Malia and Sasha. Michelle reflected,
"It's an unburdening for them. I don't know if they've articulated it,
but there is a calm in them."
Since Malia and Sasha had always existed in a whirlwind
of media attention and political upheaval, their mother observed,
"It's almost like they needed the world to stop a little bit."
After spending her whole life surrounded by politics, Malia Obama decided to make
her own statement and participate in protests for racial justice. Recalling how his daughters
became involved in the Black Lives Matter protests, Barack Obama told People in 2021,
"Malia and Sasha found their own ways to get involved with
the demonstrations and activism that you saw with young people this summer,
without any prompting from Michelle and myself, on their own initiative. They didn't do it in a
way where they were looking for limelight. They were very much in organizer mode."
The former president stated that he was very proud of his daughters
and that they were very practical about their activism. He insisted,
"I didn't have to give them a lot of advice because they
had a very clear sense of what was right."
"You are kind, and you are thoughtful, and you are full of passion. Of all
that I have done in my life, I am most proud to be your dad."
Michelle Obama admitted that she worried about her daughter's safety
as a politically active college graduate. She told CBS News,
"I don't wanna have to worry about her entering a world where she has
to worry about how people would treat her because of the color of her skin."
As their mother told British Vogue, Malia and Sasha Obama
are very different from each other at times. Michelle said of her kids,
"One speaks freely and often, one opens up on her
own terms [...] Neither approach is better or worse, because they've both grown into smart,
compassionate and independent young women, fully capable of paving their own paths."
Despite those differences, the pair are close and have even moved in together. They
were first spotted out in Los Angeles at the same time by the Daily Mail in January 2022,
sparking rumors that Sasha had moved to the West Coast to join her sister.
An insider source hinted that she might have even transferred from her course at
the University of Michigan to the University of Southern California.
That November, Michelle confirmed that Malia and Sasha were living in a Los
Angeles apartment together, telling "Good Morning America" about her
daughters hosting a family dinner at their new place. She recalled,
"They had prepared a charcuterie tray and tried to make two very weak martinis.
They realized they didn't have any of the ingredients, but they were trying to,
they were hosting us. And it's just fun, watching them become themselves."
The former first lady also joked about how the sisters had suddenly
become fastidious about taking care of their home. Michelle laughed,
"They didn't care about the water marks on my table in the White House,
but ooh they got their coasters out."
Malia Obama's dating history has been a topic of international gossip since
she first went to prom with the Secret Service accompanying her and her date. At Harvard,
she met British student Rory Farquharson and brought him home during her family's
COVID-19 quarantine. Her dad stated on "The Bill Simmons Podcast" in December 2020,
"He was sort of stuck — there was this whole visa thing, he had a job set up,
and so we took him in. And I didn't want to like him, but he's a good kid."
These days, however, Malia's dating Ethiopian music producer Dawit Eklund,
who was also born into a family of politicians.
In her November 2022 interview with "Good Morning America," Michelle Obama insisted
that it was normal for her daughters to date around at their age. She explained,
"I want them to know what they want and who they
are in a relationship. And that takes trying on some people."
It's not just Michelle who's happy to see the girls come into their own. Barack told ABC News,
"I don't worry about it because they're really solid smart girls — young ladies now."
Following her experience working with Lena Dunham on "Girls," Malia Obama got hired by
Donald Glover to write for his upcoming Beyoncé-inspired Amazon Prime series,
which is rumored to be called "Hive."
In March 2022, the multi-talented actor and musician told Vanity Fair that Obama
had earned her place on his writing staff through sheer talent. Donald explained,
"Her writing style is great [...] She's just like,
an amazingly talented person. She's really focused, and she's working really hard."
His brother, Stephen Glover,
joked that the rest of the crew put her through a trial by fire. He said,
"Well, you know, we just hurt her feelings. We can't be easy on her just because she's
the president's daughter. Nah, she's very down to earth, and cool. So, it's not a problem at all."
Stephen also explained that Obama's childhood stories were a great source
of inspiration. When discussing how she came up with a lot of interesting ideas, he said,
"Donald always says perspective is important, and people with different perspectives are important
for a writers' room. And for sure, she definitely has a unique perspective on everything."
Donald told TMZ that Malia Obama has a bright future in the entertainment business, saying,
"I think she has the potential to pretty much do anything she wants."